Top 10 Blockchain Startups to Watch in 2024

Blockchain and cryptocurrency companies attract plenty of interest from venture capitalists, private equity firms, and alternative investment funds for their innovative take on finance and commerce. It’s no surprise that crypto and blockchain companies have raised about $73 billion over the last three years.

In this article, we list the top crypto and blockchain startups to watch in 2024. You will find prominent names from the NFT industry, upcoming blockchain development companies in the Layer 2 sector, and several crypto brokerages.

We used Crunchbase data to find the top 10 blockchain startups in the world in 2024.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 10 Сrypto and Blockchain Startups in the World
3. The Bottom Line
4. FAQs
5. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 10 Сrypto and Blockchain Startups in the World
3. The Bottom Line
Show Full Guide
4. FAQs
5. References

Top 10 Сrypto and Blockchain Startups in the World

10. StarkWare Industries

StarkWare Industries is an Israel-based company that develops scalable blockchain applications and solutions such as zero-knowledge (ZK) rollups.

The company’s two main products are StarkEx and Starknet. StarkEx is a Layer 2 scalability solution on Ethereum that validates rollup transactions and generates cryptographic proofs, which are submitted to the Ethereum main net. Starknet is a ZK rollup on Ethereum on top of which decentralized applications (DApps) can be built.

9. FalconX

FalconX is a US-based prime brokerage that provides crypto liquidity solutions, risk management solutions, reporting and analytics tools, custodial services, leverage trading, and regulatory compliance oversight to institutional clients.

According to FalconX’s website, the company is the first and only CFTC-registered cryptocurrency swap dealer. FalconX provides access to over 400 crypto tokens to over 600 institutional clients.

8. Fireblocks

Fireblocks is a blockchain security service provider headquartered in New York.

The services provided by Fireblocks include crypto and DeFi treasury management, wallet-as-a-service, tokenization, stablecoin payments, staking, and compliance.

Fireblocks also provides a secure crypto trading platform called Fireblocks Network, which is connected to over 30 centralized exchanges. Meanwhile, the Fireblocks Platform API allows developers to securely build and scale DApps.

7. Chainalysis

Chainalysis is a blockchain data platform. The company provides cryptocurrency data and analysis to governments, regulators, tax agencies, financial institutions, and corporations.

The company offers crypto forensics tools like Chainalysis Reactor that examine cryptocurrency transactions and connect them to real-world entities. Other tools like Chainalysis Playbook examine crypto market patterns and on-chain behavior to predict market opportunities.

Chainalysis also provides crypto compliance tools that help corporations stay compliant by identifying sanctioned addresses and high-risk transactions.

6. Digital Currency Group

Digital Currency Group (DCG) is a cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused investment firm based in Stamford, USA.

DCG is one of the most active investors in the crypto industry. DCG has notable subsidiaries, including bitcoin ETF provider Grayscale, bitcoin mining services company Foundry, and compliance-first crypto investment platform Luno.

5. Ripple

Ripple is a blockchain technology company that provides solutions for central bank digital currency (CBDC), tokenization, cross-border payments, and treasury management. Ripple has collaborated with at least four nations – Bhutan, Columbia, Montenegro, and Palau – to pilot CBDCs.

Ripple also operates a public blockchain network called XRP Ledger (XRPL). XRPL has a native token called XRP, which is used to facilitate cross-border payments and build crypto-powered applications.

4. KuCoin

KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange available in over 200 countries around the world. At the end of 2023, the platform boasted nearly 31 million users.

According to CoinMarketCap, KuCoin is the fourth most popular centralized exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume.

The platform differentiates itself from rivals like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken by offering quick listings of new, exotic, and small-cap crypto tokens. KuCoin had nearly 800 different token listings compared to 400 on Binance, 239 on Coinbase, and 249 on Kraken as of February 2024.

3. Alchemy

Alchemy is a blockchain development platform that provides the infrastructure and tools needed to build DApps with ease. The company caters to individuals, small-sized companies, and larger corporations.

Alchemy has partnerships with popular blockchain networks like Polygon, Optimism, and 0x. The platform has helped these blockchains scale by providing resources to mitigate network issues, increase network capacity, and maintain uptime as these blockchains grow.

2. Dunamu

Dunamu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain holding company that owns and operates the largest crypto exchange in South Korea Upbit.

Upbit is so popular in South Korea that the platform was responsible for 80% of trading volumes in July 2023.

UpBit has expanded its services to Southeast Asian nations, including Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. Dunamu also owns and operates South Korea’s first unlisted securities trading platform Stockplus Unlimited, crypto index service UBCI, all-in-one investment platform Stockplus, and metaverse platform 2ndblock.

1. OpenSea

OpenSea is the world’s largest NFT marketplace by all-time sales volume. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in New York.

OpenSea’s first-mover advantage has enabled it to become synonymous with the NFT industry. The platform supports multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Optimism, and Base, which allows it to list a wide variety of digital art.

More importantly, Opensea’s user-friendly interface has helped it amass an all-time sales volume of over $36 billion, which is more than the cumulative aggregate of its closest ten rivals.

The Bottom Line

Many top blockchain companies did not make it to Techopedia’s top 10 crypto and blockchain startups list.

Here are some honorable mentions: stablecoin issuer Circle, digital collectibles company Dapper Labs, Bitcoin financial services firm NYDIG, trading platform Blockchain.com, and blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands.

FAQs